The three items on Herndon’s 2010 legislative agenda
are all waiting for Gov. Bob McDonnell’s approval after all passed
through the Virginia House and Senate.

“I was really happy to see that,” Mayor Steve
DeBenedittis said. “It couldn’t have been better, getting all our bills
passed this year.” He said the Town Council’s persistence with its
legislative agenda paid off, after working on the three items for
consecutive sessions.

Herndon’s bills included House Bill 350, which
provides municipalities the ability to regulate the solicitation of the
sale of goods and services in public streets and right of ways. House
Bill 972 provides that any new transient occupancy tax imposed by
Fairfax County does not affect the town unless the council consents to
it.

House Bill 513 allows for the administrative
impoundment of a vehicle for three days when a driver is caught for a
second or subsequent time driving with no operator’s license. The bill
includes safeguards. For example it does not apply to those who have had
a license that has been expired less than one year, and those under 18.

Del. Tom Rust (R-86) was the chief patron for the
three bills, with Sen. Janet Howell (D-32) putting forth a senate
version of HB 972. DeBenedittis said he is thankful for Rust and
Howell’s support at the 2010 General Assembly.

“I think that really proves it was worthwhile to
have a lobbyist,” DeBenedittis said. He said all three bills put
together were worth the amount of money the town spent on them. He said
the council was persistent and kept working to improve the bills and for
the first time the town’s entire legislative agenda passed.

DeBenedittis said he was pleased that HB 350 passed
because there are safety risks posed by selling goods and services from
the side of the road. Virginia code already made the sale of goods
illegal, but the bill added the sale of services to the scope of the
code. “I don’t think it’ll end people standing on the street, but it
gives us another tool to look at some of those things,” he said.

Rust said he thinks a number of factors added to
helping pass the solicitation bill. He said each year another Virginia
municipality has come forward asking about similar legislation and this
year the bill was changed to include the whole state. “It’s become a
statewide issue,” he said.

DeBenedittis said the transient lodging tax bill
was important for preserving Herndon’s government and will allow Herndon
to work with the county in the future. “It preserves the town’s
authority,” he said.

The transient lodging tax bill passed this year
because in previous years the bill was retroactive, repealing part of
Fairfax County’s current transient lodging tax in Herndon, Rust said.
This year it was changed to only impact future transient lodging tax
rate increases.

The bill relating to the administrative impoundment
of vehicles will help make Herndon’s streets safer as well and keep
more unlicensed drivers off the road, DeBenedittis said. He said he does
wish that it were stricter.

Rust said he was also pleased that the no
operator’s license bill passed with strong support in both the House and
the Senate. The biggest change to the bill was that the days impounded
was changed from 30 to three, he said. “I think it’ll be very beneficial
to Herndon,” he said.

Once signed by the governor, any municipality that
wants to apply the legislation can, but it is not mandatory for any
municipality. Counties, cities and towns must write their own ordinances
to apply the legislation, Rust said. He said one of the biggest
concerns with the legislation was how it would impact groups that do
fundraising.

Town Attorney Richard Kaufman said as a town staff
member he is pleased he was able to support the mayor and council’s
legislative program. “From a staff perspective I was favorably impressed
with the lobbyist’s work,” he said. He said every day they were on the
ground in Richmond talking to staff and legislature about Herndon’s
bills.

Kaufman said the bills will now go to the governor
for review. “I believe the governor will sigh all the bills, but that’s
not a given,” he said. He said he does not anticipate any problems with
the bills and believes they will be signed. He said his office will also
review other legislation that passed this session to analyze how it
might benefit the town. The report will be made public and will be given
to the Town Council.

As the Town of Herndon
wrestles with major land-us decisions that will potentially shape its
future for decades, more people are angling to have their say in the
process. A dozen candidates have filed to run for six seats on the
Herndon Town Council, although Mayor Steve DeBenedittis is running
unopposed. Town elections will be held May 4.

This civic fervor is not so unusual for Herndon, a town of 4 square
miles in western Fairfax County with a population of 23,000. Ten
candidates ran in 2008, and nine ran in 2006.

"It's not unusual for Herndon to have a race with a lot of
candidates. We have a lot of people willing to serve, which is great,"
said Hutchinson, who is serving her fifth term on the council.

This year, two incumbents decided not to seek re-election, which may
have added to the interest level this year, Hutchinson said. Councilman
Dennis Husch, a council member since 1994 and the town's vice mayor
from 2006-2008, decided not to seek re-election. Richard Downer,
another multi-term councilman, also is not running.

Although the town drew national headlines earlier this decade for its
struggles in dealing with an influx of Hispanic immigrant day laborers,
the top issues on candidates' minds this time around involve land-use
planning.

Herndon will have two Metrorail stations on its borders once the
second phase of the new rail line to Dulles Airport is completed, now
anticipated by the end of 2016. The Herndon-Monroe station will be on
the town's eastern border with Reston and the Route 28 station, although
located wholly within Fairfax County, will be very close to the town
and to Loudoun County.

Several challengers said they believe the current council has been
moving too slow to plan for growth around the station areas. The
multi-year process to consider potential new development in Herndon's
historic downtown has also dragged on too long, according to some
challengers.

While he supports the current council on other issues, Jones said he
has disagreed with their approach to the downtown redevelopment because
they are trying to put too many restrictions on developers. Jones and
Merkel both said economic development and attracting new business to the
town needs to be a priority.

"I really think we're at a crossroads right now," Merkel said.

Hutchinson said the council is moving ahead with its planning for
Metro. She serves on an interjurisdictional committee with members of
the Loudoun and Fairfax county Boards of Supervisors that is working on
issues related to the Route 28 station, and the town is soliciting
proposals for the the land next to the Herndon-Monroe station.

As for the downtown plan, "We need to get it right, so I'm not really
concerned about how long it takes to do it," she said.

Debates over the town's inclusiveness of its diverse population and
its treatment of day laborers do remain in the background. A
town-sponsored day labor center led to mass turnover on the council in
the 2006 election and was what got some of the current candidates
involved in town politics for the first time.

"There isn't any bridge between the Hispalic community and the town
government," Alvarado said. "There are about 1,000 Hispanic citizens in
Herndon and we don't have any representation on the town council."

Jones, who was a vocal opponent of the day labor center even before
he moved into the town three years ago, said he generally feels the
matter is settled. He criticized the activist group Alliance for
Herndon's Future, which some of the challengers are affiliated with, for
trying to resurrect the debate.

"I don't see that at the top of anybody's list," Jones said. "This
slow, consistent poicy about not allowing laborers to gather and seek
work is slowly working."